The Science of Play

Recently I attended Educon2.2. It was difficult to choose which sessions to attend as there were so many high-quality offerings. Two of the conversations I chose were Taking.Play.Seriously with Brian C. Smith and Thinking Creatively-Inventing the Possible with Linda Nitsche. Both of these wonderful and thought-provoking sessions were right up my alley as an educator, and I was excited to be able to discuss my personal passion in teaching with like-minded educators.

It seems that the educational value of play is beginning to gain greater respect in wider circles. I had to chuckle when, in one of the sessions, it was suggested that play be considered a "new literacy." To me, that is like calling breathing a new literacy. I believe that children are instinctively amazing learners, and that play and creative exploration are vital components of growth and development.

The current trend is to start academic learning at an earlier age. Preschool is what kindergarten once was, and kindergarten is what first grade used to be. Parents employ private tutors to teach 3 and 4 year olds how to read. The paradox is that in order to grow into our full potential, we must be allowed to develop our brains at a natural pace. Happily, research is catching up to what many of us who work with children have long understood. Children learn through play. Play is vital and necessary. Here is the catch- the play must be unstructured. Children learn through creating their own play. Why is it so scary for adults to respect the inherent intelligence and wholeness of children?

It seems that in our fear of falling behind and our frenzy to compete with other countries that are supposedly surpassing us in industry and math and science test scores, we have taken a path that, ultimately, makes little sense.

Problem: Kids aren't scoring high enough on standardized tests.

Usual Solutions: Teach to the test, more tests, more academics, longer school days, longer school years.

The way I see it, both the problem and the solutions need to be revisited and revised. The problems facing us as human beings are extremely complex. We must have a deep understanding of the world in which we live, the mindset to approach problems with creativity, a spirit of innovation and an outstanding ability to connect, collaborate and care about others, in order to go forward.

The human brain is the greatest technology ever known. Human beings created artificial intelligence to reflect our own intelligence. We are the machine. By working creatively with technology to explore and solve complex problems, we develop neural pathways and increase our abilities to think, problem-solve, create and understand our world. The way we use computer applications and troubleshoot equipment is, like learning, non-linear and open-ended. There are multiple approaches that will work. What is important is the ability to problem solve through trial and error as well as knowing where to seek further assistance when trial and error isn't working. When a process is used enough times it will be naturally committed to memory, but that is much less important than the confidence that comes through striving, frustration and success. That is learning. Today, more than ever before in history, we can not be satisfied with a standardized test score as the main indicator of a well-educated person.

image from BrianCSmith's flickr. Lots more great quotes there, too, from the Strong Museum of Play.

The Cost of Copyright Confusion

The future of intellectual property in a remix generation

facilitator: Kristin Hokanson

copyrightconfusion.wikispaces.com

Essential Understanding -instead of telling students "these are the rules" we must get students to think critically about the issues

What is your understanding of copyright? small group discussion.

common themes-

what is law vs. what is ethics?

public vs. private use

using certain media to enhance your message (the importance of teaching this to kids)

contextual and intent-driven

where do you draw the line on educational use?

citing sources, attribution

The intent of copyright: "to promote creativity, innovation and the spread of knowledge"

-Article 1, section 8 US Constitution 1787

Fair Use is the exemption to the law. How are we teaching kids to make the distinctions?

Range of comfort with use of copyrighted materials:

"see no evil" teachers who say go ahead and do it, I don't see it. sends kids mixed messages

"close the door" - I'll just close the door and we'll go ahead and do what we want.

"hyper-comply"- teachers who want exact rules, times, etc.

all of these examples fly in the face of critical thinking around the issues.

Discuss:

What do kids understand about...

•copyright

•fair use

•public domain

•creative commons

•understanding the difference between authorship and ownership

•creative commons

-challenge of giving credit, challenge of school filters

•what is the purpose of your work? are you analyzing the piece or simply restating something?

example of importance of purpose: Bill Graham Archives vs. Dorling Kindersley, Ltd. (2006)

Bill Graham sued DK for using their poster in a book about rock posters. DK won. The purpose of the original poster was to promote the rock concert. Purpose of the book was to document the time period, etc.

Codes of Best Practices:

Book- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (available from Media Education Lab)

video at http://mediaeducationlab.com/video-overview

The effective use of copyrighted materials enhances the teaching and learning process.

Context and situation of the material (user's rights video. available on temple site, embedded in the wiki, linked above).-

fair use depends on the benefit to society. does benefit to society outweigh the costs of the copyright holder.

Ask yourself: Did I

*add value?

*repurpose?

also on the wiki: scenarios for discussion, fair use reasoning sheet to help students develop the critical thinking skills around fair-use

"Mashups are an opportunity for students to really look at the media they consume-- to take it and give it their own spin. It helps show kids how they can present their own point of view."

-Faith Rogow

Watch: Larry Lessig's TED talk (How the law is strangling creativity)

The above are notes I took during the session. I just want to add that this session really opened my mind to a new understanding of this topic. There are no hard and fast rules. It really is about critical thinking and developing media literacy and a true understanding of intellectual property. And the best news of all is that there are incredible resources (check out the links) available to teach yourself and your students about copyright and fair use.

Leadership 2.0- Who do we need our leaders to be?

Chris Lehmann

Session Description:

If we assume that the schools we need are inquiry-driven, technology-infused and communities of care, what do leaders have to be to engender and nurture those ideas?

Big ideas!

Inquiry-

all of our classrooms should start with the questions we ask together- CL

What does this idea mean?

What does this idea mean for education?

How could this idea affect our schools and communitites?

How does this idea inform my personal practice?

•teacher guided questions leading to self-guided exploration

•inquiry as a pedagogy continues beyond school. is a real skill, process.

•not just asking questions but getting to the answer or an answer.

•teachers asking questions they don't know the answers to "What do you think?"

shared process of inquiry between teacher and student

connection between inquiries and communities of care. We know the content but they (students) know themselves. We can inquire about them.

What does "technology infused" mean?

•technology not independent of the content/pedagogical structure

•how do we leverage what kids are already using/doing with tech?

•can't be "the schools we've always had + technology"

•ubiquitous and invisible

•learning experiences going on that demand technology and can't be done without it.

•saying "I want my kids to be able to do something, what's the tool?"

"tools are transformative"

•release of control by the teacher

The ability to have these conversations and come to common ground requires a good leader. Get to common ground and then move on.

Communities of care-

difference between "I teach math." and "I teach KIDS math."

Students should never be the implied object of their own education.

mutual transparency- true motives are available to each other

care is at all levels. You can not bully teachers into caring for kids.

teachers have to feel cared for, trusted, listened to. top-down mandates will never get us to communities of care.

even when you care for people, you occasionally have to have hard conversations. caring means setting boundaries, being the adult (when talking about adults caring for kids, imposing structure and discipline).

Enabling is not caring.

Leadership- in order to transform a school where do you start?

Start by listening.

what do we do well?

what do we all want to do?

people want to make meaning together. someone who will take their ideas and synthesize them. Then lead.

You have to carve out the time and space for care. It doesn't fit neatly into the academic calendar, but you must make time for it. Structural change- at SLA every student has an advisor, someone whose job it is to know and care for that student. "The curriculum is the community."

"managing up" -teach our leaders how we want things to be. coming to people with solutions they can own. building trust and bridges.

Visioning: Developing Ideas

Modeling: How can leaders publicly live these ideas?

-articulating vision and starting discussion around vision, values

Whatever we want our kids to do, we have to allow our teachers to do.

Servant Leadership: Top Down Support for Bottom Up Ideas

We should be able to say to teachers "How can I help?"

Leading? How do we get everyone on board?

consensus-driven decision making doesn't mean we all agree completely. It means we are all willing to come to consensus and move forward around a shared decision.

requires:

honesty

transparency

a subjugation of ego

Sustaining:

How do we build systems and structures?

go into a school, ask what their mission statement is and ask them to prove it.

what are the systems and structures that support and sustain it?

Good leadership says, "Here are the systems and structures that will enable any teacher who is willing..."

Taking. Play. Seriously

Facilitator: Brian C. Smith

session wiki

Conversation Description: Diane Ackerman's quote, "play is the brain's favorite way of learning" is oft used to describe the learning that takes place in elementary schools. Despite that belief, a simple visit to any school in the country will reveal a picture that flies in the face of Ackerman's statement. We know why play is being squeezed out of schools, but bringing it back will take creative thinking ideas and sharing. Together we will discuss and construct ideas for bringing the aspects of play into more learning experiences.

Framework of Play-

•anticipation- expectation

•wonder

•curiosity

•anxiety

•uncertainty

•risk

•surprise-a-ha! moments

•discovery- a new sensation or idea or shifting perspective

•pleasure- it feels good

•understanding- new knowledge, application of ideas

•strength-empowerment, confidence, new skills

•poise-grace, state of balance, composure, contentment

What is your play history?

What do you think you learned from play?

Types of play-

creative

object

social

body and movement (rough and tumble)

spectator

imaginative

storytelling-narrative

Images: Brian C. Smith's flickrstream

User-Generated Education

Jackie Gerstein

http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/User-Generated+Education

Idea for the Conversation: Once kids get the K-3 foundational skills let them create their own educations.

Is it possible, etc?

The problem: Should a student-centric, user-generated education be the predominant learning model for this era of the 21st century?

The protocol: Technology-Enhanced Socratic Seminar

Socratic- based in the idea that deeper understanding of complex ideas occurs through rigorously thoughtful dialogue.

*dialogue not debate*

•4 elements: text, questions, leader and participants

•Leader's job is not to present material. Leader listens and define additional questions.

•you should leave with more questions than answers.

•based on reading a text or texts.

•Leader: "I wonder if..."

if we can google the answer to a question we shouldn't be talking about it.

see wiki for texts: Disrupting Class

Anderson, J. Remaking Education

Furedi, F. Let's Give Children a Store of Knowledge

User generated education assists the learner in selecting the best tools for individualized learning.

problem: those who are naturally more vocal and extroverted have a voice. use tools to give all kids a voice. let kids pick the tool that they want to use.

honor people's different styles and ways of contributing to a conversation. Not everyone likes to talk.

social media increases options for participation.

Discussion ideas:

everyone is a learner, some are "lead" learners. reconfiguring the role of the adult. making learning transparent.

What is/should be the role of the adult?

talk of guide, talk of creating and manipulating the environment

discussion about core or foundational skills. what are the core skills? core ideas? cultural literacies?

How do we blend approaches? (I think this is an important question)

Do we have enough faith in kids?

Why do we (adults) get to decide for children what they should know?

What matters? (my question)

Alvin Toffler: "Let's throw it out and start all over again."

Thinking Creatively: Inventing the Possible

Educon Session 1: Facilitator: Linda Nitsche

http://inventingthepossible.wikispaces.com

Conversation Description: If schools kill creativity, then what hope do we have of helping our students be prepared to devise creative and imaginative solutions to problems in their futures? Come examine frameworks for thinking and working creatively. Explore and experience creativity, innovation, and imagination in action. Reframe your problems into opportunities.

We each contributed to a wall of the "bricks" that inhibit creative thinking-

Frameworks for Creativity:

Paul Torrance-

-incubation formula for stages of creativity-

1.heightening anticipation: warm-ups, arouse curiosity

2. deepening expectations - apply to content curriculum but look at differently. no rigid path.

3. keeping it going- stretch. go beyond. apply outside of specific area.

research: children who scored high in creativity were more successful than those with high IQ (over 40 years of watching, testing).

elements: innovative, adaptive, creative strengths

Fluency:brainstorming. rules. as much as possible. open up to all ideas. avoid criticism!!!! no comments (+ or -). piggybacking on someone else's idea. practice hearing others' ideas and use them. oddball stuff-want kids to feel comfortable going beyond. taking risks.

Flexibility: flexible thinking, ability to get past your set perceptions of the first picture that popped in your head. takes practice. notice that you're stuck there.

Originality: the result of good fluency and flexibility. that one good idea that comes out.

Elaboration: a creative process isn't just the idea, it's how you elaborate on the idea. example: think up a cool car, be able to give all the details of it.

Scamper: ideation strategy

S=Substitute (other ingredients, materials, etc. )

C=combine (blend)

A=adapt

M=modify (magnify,minify?)

P=Put to other uses

E=eliminate

R=Reverse (roles or rearrange patterns)

start with a question and move through the "SCAMPER" to look at possible answers from different perspectives. OR start with a statement of fact and use scamper to generate questions. look at knowledge, ideas from a variety of perspectives.

"What if?" -"classic phrase. use it!"

Lateral Thinking: from the mind of Edward De Bono

(youtube video edward de bono on creative thinking). will embed here whenever I am able to get onto youtube :)

challenge the process.

provocative statement- look at the problem in an "impossible, contradictory way"

random words- strategy where you choose a totally random word. (from anywhere). attach it

and use it to brainstorm. does it help solve the problem in any way. (takes your mind away from its' preconceived notions of something and helps you see it in a new way).

parallel thinking- 6 hats, take on different viewpoints

So what?

imagine it project- fascinating collection of videos. watch video and record thoughts

creativity

imagination

innovation

curiosity

Behaviors we want to encourage:

•imagination

•awareness

•curiosity

•risk taking

•complexity

•playfulness

Now what? Remember the barrier wall we created at the start of the session -

Name a bridge. How can we knock down the barriers?

Educon Keynote: Marilyn Perez

notes from the keynote speaker at Educon- Marilyn Perez (district admin in Philly)-

•Think of schooling as opportunity to provide access and equity for all, regardless of background, etc.

•It begins with the principal of a school.

•high expectations for all students

•believing that every student has innate talents and can reach their potential

•Teachers-believe the power of your words. It is possible to achieve and learn regardless of circumstance.

•Education can transform quality of life for poor children

• a sense of order. if students don't come with it, we must provide it for them.

rigor! high expectations for all children! homework...

relevant. fun.

desire to make things different, courage to challenge the status quo. have a relationship with students. "attitude of servitude" serve others (your students) with love. don't judge your students b/c of their backgrounds.

reflect on your expectations for students.

What is the purpose of schooling?

teach students to communicate, contribute, find solutions, have a successful life, be productive.